The verb deleazō means to lure or entice — to attract by bait. The image is of a fisherman baiting a hook or a trapper setting a lure for an animal. In the New Testament it appears in 2 Peter 2:14 (false teachers who entice unstable souls) and in James 1:14, which uses related imagery of desire 'enticing' (though using a different word) — the concept of temptation as enticement through bait is central to both.
James 1:14 and 2 Peter 2:14 together paint a complete picture of spiritual entrapment. Sin does not usually demand or coerce — it deleazō, it lures and entices. The bait of pleasure, approval, or advantage is dangled before the soul, and desire is aroused. The danger intensifies because the bait is often genuinely attractive. The Christian defense is not to deny that temptation attracts but to see clearly what lies beneath the lure — as Peter warns, false teachers 'entice unstable souls' precisely because their teaching seems appealing. Wisdom sees the hook beneath the bait.